Writer – Cary Bates
Artist – Tod Smith
Inker – Alfredo Alcala
Colours – Michele Wolfman
Letters – Carrie Spiegle

In a story called The Price of Peace, Cary Bates and Tod Smith put the focus on the meeting between Diana – leader of the Visitors and Dr. Meagan, a member of the resistance though that fact is known to few due to his public persona. For her part, Diana has plans for Meagan though he knows it not and Meagan has plans for her. It makes things very interesting for the reader as they have no idea just which one of the two is going to come out on top in this particular situation. One might think Diana has the advantage with it being on her home ground but given that Meagan has a very small nuclear device on his person, all bets are off. That being said, Mike Donovan is aiming to stop Meagan from ever setting it off for should he do that, it could lead to all-out war and that is something that nobody wants. Bates writes a fun tale and keeps a good thread of tension running throughout, everybody on edge for fear of what could happen though nothing really does other than subterfuge on everyone’s part. Additionally, the tellers of this tale take readers back to Earth where Ham and Chris have abducted the named Bates who had been trying to kill them previously and now wants their help rescuing his son who also happens to be the man whom the Starchild is in love with. Said rescue is going to take a lot of luck as Ham and company have to break into a prison camp to do so and it seems as if luck is with them as they go in dressed as prison guards with Bates as their prisoner. Cary Bates keeps readers on the edge of their seats for the Resistance members could be caught at any moment, their disguises only as good as their performances. As it is, the conclusions to both stories are left for the next issue, the writer of this tale willing to let readers stew for a hot moment, ensuring they come back for more. Smith continues to deliver some great artwork for his part and while there might have been little in the way of real action, the book nevertheless was one of the best issues so far with the pressure mounting on both sides of the fence.

3.5 out of 5